Syria

Israel Urges Europe to 'Wake Up' on Syria after Killings

Israel's foreign minister has urged Europe to "stop granting legitimacy" to Syria's transitional authorities after hundreds of civilians were reportedly killed in clashes, in an interview published Sunday. "Europe must not fail in reading the reality," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Germany's Bild ...

Syria President Calls for Unity After Reports of Mass Killings

President Ahmed al-Sharaa called for national unity and peace on Sunday amid a growing international backlash following the killing of Alawite civilians in the worst violence since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said the killings "must cease immediately", while the Arab League, the United ...

Rubio Says Syria Must Hold Accountable 'Perpetrators of Massacres'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday condemned the "radical Islamist terrorists" behind "massacres" of minorities in Syria and demanded that the interim administration hold those responsible to account. "The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent ...

Syria Church Leaders Condemn ‘Massacres Targeting Innocent Civilians'

The leaders of Syria's three main Christian churches issued a joint statement Saturday condemning "massacres targeting innocent civilians", following reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians by the security forces. Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said "532 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal ...

Syria Forces Beef Up Security Amid Reports of Mass Killings of Alawites

Syrian security forces deployed heavily in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast on Saturday, after a war monitor reported that government and allied forces killed at least 745 civilians from the religious minority in recent days. Residents of the region continued to report killings of civilians after deadly clashes broke out on ...

Syria: Sharaa Warns Former Regime Loyalists and Calls for Stability

Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa declared on Friday that Syria “will not move backward” and warned against any violations of the state's established rules during a speech to the nation. “Syria has moved forward and will not take a single step back,” the president stated, emphasizing that security forces must avoid excessive ...

UN: Over 300,000 Returned to Syria Since Assad's Fall

More than 300,000 refugees have returned to Syria since president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, while nearly a million more people displaced inside the country have returned to their homes, the United Nations said on Friday. Since Assad was toppled by Islamist-led rebels on December 8, "we've now crossed the 300,000 returns" mark, ...

Syria: A New Phase of Conflict Between Pro-Assad Forces and the Authorities?

The Pandora’s box that opened in Syria in 2011 is far from closed. After the civil war that broke out 14 years ago, a new phase of tensions has begun in the wake of former President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster and his exile in Russia. On Thursday, fighting intensified across the country, particularly in the west, as supporters of the former ...

Latakia: Assad Loyalists Kill More Than 70 Security Forces in Most Violent Attack Since Ouster

More than 70 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Syria in fighting between government security forces and militants loyal to deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor said Friday. "More than 70 killed and dozens wounded and captured in bloody clashes and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defense and ...

UK Eases Sanctions on Syria, Lifts Restrictions on 24 Entities

The UK government lifted sanctions imposed during the rule of the former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad against 24 entities, including Syria's Central Bank, a statement said. The UK government said last month it planned to ease sanctions after the new Syrian government sought to persuade Western capitals that the rebels that toppled Assad after 14 ...

Syria leftover explosives kill and injure over 180 children: NGO

Landmines and unexploded ordnance in Syria have killed or injured at least 188 children since president Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December, Save the Children charity said Thursday. Of that figure, more than 60 children were killed, the UK-based group said, warning the toll could rise as more families return to the war-ravaged country. Since ...